Hour of Dawn
by Ocean Starfly
Summary: This is a super old original Warriors story I started on about 3-4 years ago? It follows the story of my rp cat Lionstone, an orphan taken into ThunderClan with his brother. I'm thinking of actually continuing this, so please let me know what you think.


I started this a long time ago but never really got around to continueing it after I lost everything but this prologue that I had posted on my old Warriors rpg site when my mom's computer broke. In the rpg world Lionkit's story has gone a few different ways, so I don't know which one I'd take with this or if I'd create a new one. It's a bit cliche (hey, there is nothing new under the sun and I was like, 11-12) but I liked this story and I am now thinking of continueing it. More work around my other ongoing fics plus school. Readers of my other fics and anyone who wants me to continue this, please cheer me on! Please review and let me know if anyone would like me to continue this story.

Disclaimer: Warriors is the property of Erin Hunter, but this fic, the plot, and all of the characters belong to me.

Prologue

_A nearly full moon shown down on a forest_, making the snow glitter on the trees. A lone cat crept along the edge of a Thunderpath, with two young kits struggling through the snow behind it. "Come on kits, you can make it," the she-cat mewed encouragingly to her kits. The golden kit tried leaping over the snow, managing to get a little farther forward, but not far. The other kit, stark black against the snow, pushed onward as well as it could. The she-cat lifted the kits over a bank, just inside the edge of the forest, padding into the undergrowth.  
The snow lay a little less thickly underneath the trees, sheltered by branches and bushes. After a while the she-cat stopped and scented the air. "Cats," she whispered. As though thinking of something, she pushed forward with new determination, the kits struggling to keep up. After a while the cat stopped and the kits flopped down in exhaustion. Nudging the tiny bundles into a hollow cave at the base of a tree, she murmured, "Stay her, little ones, and someone will come to get you; someone who will take care of you better than I can." And with that, the she-cat disappeared into the shadows.  
The kits curled together, deep in the cave, trying to keep warm. They mewled pitifully into the chill wind, hungry and scared.  
As the moon sank below the horizon and the sun sent rays of light to stain the clouds red, a bush rustled and a slim tabby tom stepped out.  
"Come on, or we'll never even make it to the border," the cat called over his shoulder.  
Another cat, this one a smaller she-cat with dark ginger fur, bounded out of the ferns and a little past the first cat. "Hey, Sparrowstripe, are we going to hunt on this patrol?" the smaller cat asked.

"Yes, all patrols are double hunting and border patrols this leaf-bare," Sparrowstripe meowed, as a black and white tom and a darker brown tabby she-cat stepped out of the bushes.

"What can you smell, Redpaw?" the she-cat asked the ginger one. Opening her mouth and drawing the air of the forest over her scent glands, Redpaw paused for a moment. Then her eyes flew open and she meowed in surprise, "I smell kits!"  
"Kits? What would kits be doing all the way out here?" the black and white tom growled.

"Could Larksong's kits have snuck out of camp?"

"I don't know, let's take a look," the dark tabby meowed. She stepped forward, searching out the freshest kit-scent. Jumping onto a tree root, she bent her head to peer into the cave. "There are kits in here!" she meowed, slithering off the root into the snow in front of the tree.  
Sparrowstripe trotted forward and crouched beside the she-cat. "Fleetfoot is right! But what mother would leave her kits alone in the middle of leaf-bare?" he meowed as Fleetfoot reached in to draw out the two kits. The kits huddled close to her, mewling for food.  
Redpaw reached over to sniff the little lumps of fur curiously, as Fleetfoot meowed, "Moonfang, help me carry them back to camp."  
Muttering a complaint under his breath, Moonfang stooped to pick up one of the kits. The little black kit raised a paw and swiped it at the black and white tom's nose. Jerking back in surprise he stared at the kit. "Looks like he's a little warrior," he meowed, picking it up.  
Fleetfoot picked up the other kit and all four cats whirled around and bounded into the trees.

Mews of surprise met the patrol as they got back to camp. Heads turned and whispers followed them as Moonfang and Fleetfoot stopped near a large rock. Sparrowstripe disappeared behind it, as a white tom with silver tabby markings padded up to the patrol.  
He meowed, "What is going on? Where did these kits come from?"

"We found them in a hollow cave beneath a tree little ways from the Thunderpath, Cloudedpelt," Moonfang meowed, setting the kit he held on the ground.

"Did you see any sign of their mother?" a voice questioned from behind them. A dark gray tabby cat had appeared from behind the stone, with Sparrowstripe following.

"No, Stormstar," Moonfang meowed dipping his head respectfully.

"She might have been hunting," Fleetfoot meowed.  
Stormstar paused for a moment, thinking, and then meowed, "We'll send a patrol to look for her, just in case." He waved his tail at a ginger tom with a white muzzle and tail tip. "Foxtail, I want you to go look for a cat who might be these kits' mother," he ordered him. "Take whichever cats you like with you." The tom nodded and bounded over to a few cats. After talking to them for a moment, they bounded through the tunnel of gorse that the patrol had entered through.

"What will we do if we can't find the mother?" Cloudedpelt asked.

"We'll have to keep them," Stormstar meowed.

"But it's leaf-bare! Food is hard to find right now, without having extra mouths to feed." Cloudedpelt argued.

"ThunderClan will not through kits out in leaf-bare. Besides new-leaf will be here in little more than a moon," Stormstar mewed calmly. "Fleetfoot, Moonfang, please put these kits in the nursery. See if Larksong will look after them."  
Both cats nodded and picked up the kits once again. Padding over to a large thicket of brambles they squeezed through a tiny entrance. A thorn caught one of the kits, making it let out a screech.

"Are those kits?" a voice mewed from inside the warm interior.  
Moonfang and Fleetfoot blinked to adjust their eyes to the dim light. Two queens lay in their nests; one, a silver and black tabby, had two kits snuggled beside her. The other queen, a pale ginger, lay with a swollen belly, showing that kits were to come.

"We found these kits on patrol," Fleetfoot meowed setting down the kit she carried. "Ripplefeather and Foxtail are out looking for their mother, but right now, will you look after them, Larksong?" the tabby meowed, looking at the silver queen.  
"I've got enough looking after these two!" she complained, nudging one of her kits closer to her belly.  
The little golden kit that Fleetfoot had set down was nearly wailing with hunger now. It tried to head for Larksong and the scent of milk and warmth. Larksong's eyes soften and she nudged it towards her. It immediately latched onto her and started suckling, purring like a rumble of thunder. Moonfang set the black kit next to her as well and he did the same.  
Sensing that she would look after them, the two warriors squeezed back out of the nursery.  
The sun was well above the trees by then, and Moonfang padded over to Cloudedpelt, who sat surveying the camp.  
Moonfang dipped his head in greeting and meowed, "The dawn patrol has not yet finished."  
Cloudedpelt turned to him and replied, "Yes, why don't you take Mossfur, Blackthroat and Treepaw." Then, as though thinking of something, he added, "How was Redpaw on the patrol?"  
"She did well. She was the one to scent the kits," Moonfang meowed.

"Good. Assess Treepaw while you are out and I'll talk to Stormstar about making them warriors. Please inform Fleetfoot and Mossfur," the white and silver tom purred.  
Moonfang nodded and bounded off. After talking to Fleetfoot and Mossfur, Moonfang, Blackthroat, Mossfur, and Treepaw set off through the gorse tunnel.  
The sun was at its highest when the patrol returned. After Mossfur talked to Stormstar, he jumped onto the Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather below the Highrock for a clan meeting!" she yowled.  
Cats crept out form their dens and trotted over to gather below the stone. Once the last cat had sat down, she continued.

"Today we have something to celebrate," Ravenstar meowed. "Redpaw, Treepaw, come forward."  
The two apprentices walked forward, their paws crunching slightly on the snow. Redpaw's dark ginger fur stood out from the white like a splash of blood, while Treepaw, a long-legged brown tabby tom, looked like a small tree, just as his name said.  
Ravenstar jumped off the High-rock and meowed, "I, Stormstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."  
Turning to Redpaw he continued, "Redpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"  
"I do," Redpaw meowed, quivering with excitement.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Redpaw, from this moment you will be known as Redsky. StarClan honors your courage and speed, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Stormstar stepped forward and rested his muzzle on the ginger she-cat's head. Redsky dipped her head to lick Stormstar's shoulder respectfully; then she padded over to stand with the warriors.  
Stormstar went on, looking to the tabby apprentice. "Treepaw, do you, too, promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your life?"  
"I do." Treepaw echoed the words as he stood bravely.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Treepaw, from this moment you will be known as Treeclaw. StarClan honors your strength and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Once again, the gray leader stepped forward and rested his muzzle on the tabby's head. The new warrior licked his shoulder respectfully and went to stand next to Redsky and the warriors.

"Redsky, Treeclaw, Redsky, Treeclaw!" the entire clan started chanting the new warriors' names. Redsky and Treeclaw purred happily.  
Once the chanting and congratulations had died down, Stormstar spoke again. "We have another matter to attend to. As most of you know, the dawn patrol returned with two kits." A few whispers swept through the cats, guessing what Stormstar planned to do with the strange abandoned kits.

"Foxtail led a search party to look for their mother. A trail was found but it led off our territory and they could go no further."  
Some uneasy mutterings followed this. What kind of mother would leave her kits in the middle of leaf-bare?  
"They are the kits of rogues! We should throw them out!" a voice called from the crowd. A black and white tom was standing near the back of the crowd.

"ThunderClan shall not throw kits out into a cold leaf-bare, Blackthroat. The warrior code says that all warriors are never to neglect a kit in pain, wherever it may be from," Stormstar growled. "Larksong is already looking after them along with her own kits. They shall stay and be trained as warriors."  
A few gasps came from the crowd, but Stormstar continued as though he heard nothing but the wind.

"Their names shall be Lionkit and Clawkit." And with that, the gray tabby tom leaped down from the Highrock and padded behind it to his den.  
The cats of ThunderClan broke up, some heading towards the fresh-kill pile, others simply bunching into groups to discuss the kits. Some though he was right in not throwing the kits into the cold; others thought that rogue kits couldn't become warriors. While cats talked about them, the kits slept soundly in the nursery, curled up with Larksong and her kits.


End file.
